Can’t Make Your Credit Card Payments – What’s Next?

Are you worried about the future likelihood of not being able to pay your credit card debt?

Are you already behind in your monthly credit card payments?  Have you interest rates and monthly minimum payments been increased?  Have you suffered late payment penalty fees?

Has bankruptcy to eliminate credit card debt crossed your mind?

Unemployment, a devastating health problem, a family death, an unsuccessful business, or something else could have ruined your finances.  Regardless of the cause of your credit card debt troubles, you can avoid the distress and negative thinking about bankruptcy or predatory creditors with some basic knowledge of unsecured credit card debt.

Learning the truth about credit card debt collection is the key to peace of mind for consumers with late credit card debt, and it is the way to eliminate credit card debt, according to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide. Eight percent of American adults (That’s 18 million people.) missed a credit card payment in the last 12 months, according to creditcards.com.  If your account is in arrears, it is one of millions. Your delinquent account can be one of thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of credit card accounts sold in a package of junk debt for ten cents on the dollar or less to a junk debt buyer.

The credit card companies must budget for bad debt per Federal Reserve regulations.  Their planning assumes a certain percentage of consumers will not pay their credit card debt.  Then, the credit card debt collectors who end up with those debts assume there are two kinds of consumers; those who do not resist their collection efforts or do so ineffectually and those few who do resist to eliminate their credit card debt.

Your safety and security are in the numbers, in the millions of charged-off accounts and in the pennies per dollar each is actually worth. If you resist debt collection attempts (after you learn how to properly do so), it is simply not profitable for a debt collector to put more time into chasing you, when they can put that time in getting the easy returns from the many other people who put up no resistance.  Credit card debt collectors can make a lot of money, if they only collect from 50 percent of the delinquent accounts assigned to them.

An understanding of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, your state’s consumer protection laws and, if needed, your local court’s rules of civil procedure will make it possible to turn away debt collectors and eliminate credit card debt.

Amazing Truth : Your Credit Score Revealed

For many of us, these two little words, “credit score” are shrouded in mystery, and sometimes even fear. It’s a fact that any professional who loans money holds these two words very near indeed, for the quality of your credit score determines if you can borrow money, how much and at which interest rate.

Your credit score can be found in your credit report (also known as your credit history), which is compiled mainly by three companies in the US., Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, also known as credit bureaus. Your credit report is a history of how you have borrowed money, and how you’ve paid it back.

All debts that you have (current and past) will be on your credit report, listed by who holds the debt and your history of paying on that debt. Some basic personal information is included such as your full name, social security number and current address (and some past addresses). Only facts are included in your credit report – there are no comments, etc.

Current loans, as well as paid off loans are included. Late payments – 30, 60 or 90 days late are shown for each current account. Debts held by collection agencies and bad debt charged off (debts that you never paid) are included as well, and all of this factors into making your credit score.

When most anyone is considering loaning you money – credit cards, auto loan or home mortgage – they will consult your credit report, and look closely at your credit score. Credit scores range from 300 to 850 points and look like this:

• 700 – 850 — Excellent or Very Good Credit
• 680 – 699 — Good Credit
• 620 – 679 — Okay or Average Credit
• 580 – 619 — Low Credit
• 500 – 580 — Poor Credit
• 300 – 499 — Bad Credit

The higher your credit score, the better the chance you’ll have borrowing money, and the lower your interest rate will be.

Where does the information for your credit report come from? Most creditors (i.e. Credit cards, banks, and others) report your credit history to the credit bureaus (see above) in return for credit information about other creditors. All accounts are updated on a monthly basis – creditor information is transmitted automatically to the credit bureaus, so your credit report is up to date.

You can order your credit report each year from one of the above credit bureaus – free of charge.

You can also challenge wrong information on your credit report – but this must be done by mail, and be fully documented.

Usually, information about you that is considered bad (debts sent to collection or charged off, lawsuits and judgments, paid tax liens and most criminal records should be purged after 7 years. Bankruptcies stay on your credit report for 10 years. Positive information and records of criminal convictions stay on your credit report forever.